


Get Me

by daydreamsonacloudyday



Series: Althea Clayton [2]
Category: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-30
Updated: 2014-05-30
Packaged: 2018-01-27 02:37:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1711892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daydreamsonacloudyday/pseuds/daydreamsonacloudyday
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Althea and Brynjolf encounter bandits while on a job.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Get Me

**Author's Note:**

> Drabble request:  
> Get Me - drabble about one character saving another. 
> 
> This takes place during Scoundrel’s Folly—before Brynjolf and Althea are together.

They had slipped through the warehouse unnoticed, but no job was ever perfect these days. Following Gulum-Ei had led them to a hidden grotto filled with bandits that would not hesitate to kill the two thieves if they were caught. To avoid any conflict with the brigands, Brynjolf watched Althea put them down one by one, precisely shooting them with arrows dipped in a paralytic poison.

Their problem was the five bandits up ahead. Brynjolf knew his lass was an ace with her bow, he had consistently seen her hit consecutive bulls-eyes on the targets in the training room, and had observed her impressive shooting on their current mission. But even she was not going to be able to shoot them all before they saw them. She confirmed his thoughts, informing him she could hit as many as three if she were lucky, so Brynjolf drew his daggers in preparation for the fight.

"Brynjolf," she murmured as she placed her hand over his closed fist. He momentarily got distracted by her touch, looking down at her hand before focusing again and meeting her eyes. "I have enough poison for your blades as well. All you would have to do is slash them once, and the poison would take effect."

He smiled at her, reassuring her that he understood her suggestion. She had never killed anyone before, though she had assisted another in doing so during their escape from Helgen. Even though it was in self-defense, she hated her previous actions and did not wish to partake in the killing anyone ever again. Brynjolf supposed it was just another reason his lass was too good for him.

Once Brynjolf’s blades were carefully coated in the paralytic poison, Althea took aim at the bandits and let her arrows fly. She took down two of them before the rest realized they were being attacked and rushed at them. Brynjolf easily fell into battle, engaging the first bandit he ran into until he was able to nick the man between the plates of his armor. When he glanced around to find his next opponent, he felt a pang of fear in his chest when he saw Althea fighting the last bandit alone.

The Nord was twice her size and swinging at her with a monstrous battle-axe, while Althea was quickly dodging his attacks. Brynjolf did not think, he  lunged himself at the bandit, wrapping his arms around his neck in a chokehold. The bandit was not going down easily, and brought the butt of his axe backwards and up, forcefully colliding it with Brynjolf’s face.

Pain exploded behind his eyes as he growled, stumbling back a few steps, unwillingly losing his grip on the bandit. The other Nord deemed Brynjolf the greater threat, and turned to face him, preparing to strike. Before he could do so, Althea hopped up on the back of the bandit with a grunt, trying to help Brynjolf. Unfortunately, she was too petite to do anything more than pester the bandit, who would either throw her off of his back or smash her in the face with his battle-axe. Either way his lass would end up dead or gravely injured, so he snapped into action again.

Ignoring all the pain in his head and fueled by his desire to protect Althea, Brynjolf quickly stepped forward and stabbed the bandit in the gut, instantly paralyzing him. Althea jumped off the bandit’s back just as Brynjolf pulled his bloody dagger out of the bandit, who promtly fell to the ground, paralyzed and bleeding out. She stared at the dying bandit, strands of her hair falling in front of her wide eyes. Brynjolf could only imagine what horrible things she was thinking about, and instantly felt guilty for letting his feelings for her rush him into stabbing the bandit instead of finding another way to incapacitate him.

"Lass, I’m sorry, I—"

"I can heal him enough so he won’t die," she said quickly, dropping to the ground and placing her hands over the bandit’s wound. Brynjolf watched as the golden, healing magic flowed from her fingertips, causing him to remember his own injury. Now that he had calmed down, the pain returned in full force, and he could feel blood running from the wound near his left eye. He tried to staunch the bloodflow by pressing his hand to the wound, but all he did was make himself wince. As soon as Althea finished healing the bandit, she stood up and turned to face Brynjolf, guilt washing over her face at his appearance. "Oh gods, I’m so sorry! I should have healed you first!"

"I’ll be fine, it’s just a scratch," Brynjolf answered, despite the fact it was much more than a simple scratch. Althea shot him a glare before her expression softened.

"Let me see it," she ordered, gently pulling his hand off his face with her own. Her brow furrowed and she bit her lip, indicating his wound at least looked as bad as it felt. He continued watching her as she softly placed her hand over his eye and began to heal him, the warmth from her restoration magic soothing all his pain away. When he was as good as new, Brynjolf moved his hand over hers. It startled her, and she snapped her eyes quickly to his.

"Thank you, lass," he said, giving her a soft smile. She smiled back at him, and it only made him smile more.

"Anytime, Brynjolf.”


End file.
